Dreams and Nightmares
by heatherkw
Summary: Since when did Kirsten cuddle? If this was a dream, he wasn't sure he wanted to wake up. Camsten, one-shot. *Updated on 9/4 to add a bit more to the ending.*


A/N: Idea from _that_ photo currently circulating on tumblr. More angst than I intended, but there's fluff too!

* * *

Kirsten was fast asleep, curled into Cameron's side. He doesn't quite know how they got to this point. Only that it started the night he came home.

…

Cameron was finally resting at home, enjoying a little bit of peace and quiet.

The afternoon was a blur. Cameron had finally been released from Ayo's care earlier that day, after being kept under observation for three days after his brief coma following his "death." Well, brief wasn't quite the word that Kirsten would use. She reminded him, on three different occasions, that he was in a coma for fifteen hours and twenty-three minutes. She was there for all of it, and the three days after that.

Camille had insisted that Kirsten go home and rest. And more importantly, shower. She promised Kirsten that she and Linus would stay with Cameron.

Several hours later, Kirsten had texted Camille that she was on her way to Cameron's place and would be there in fifteen minutes. By some miracle, he had persuaded Camille and Linus to leave. He just wanted a few minutes alone.

He had changed out of his jeans and plaid button up, opting for sweatpants and a dark gray tshirt. He settled into his bed, pulling up Netflix. He selected one of his favorite Doctor Who episodes, resting his head back as the episode started.

* * *

Kirsten had tried to take Camille's advice, she really did. She took a nice long shower- if a twenty-eight minute shower counted as long (she had a timer constantly counting up, so she could keep track of how long she was away from Cameron). She was exhausted from sleeping in the uncomfortable chair next to Cameron the last few days. She figured she would take a nap for two hours, then go over to check on Cameron. She set an alarm, and almost immediately fell asleep.

She slept deeply for a while. Then the nightmare started. Cameron wasn't waking up. The constant buzz of the heart monitor was the only thing she could hear. They tried and tried to revive him, but he wasn't responding. She was screaming at him to wake up, Camille was holding her back. Ayo gave him another injection of epinephrine and shocked him again, and again. She set the paddles down and looked up at Kirsten. "He's not responding, we've tried everything we could. He's gone."

She jolted up in her bed, and reached for her phone. _Is Cameron okay?!_ She sent to Camille.

Kirsten stared at her phone, willing Camille to answer. She jumped out of bed, tearing through her dresser for the first thing she could find and changed into it. Her phone buzzed. _Yeah, he's fine. Linus and I are still here at his place._ She exhaled. Cameron was alright. It was just a nightmare.

She still couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach. She needed to see him. She called an Uber and they were picking her up in five minutes.

Her phone went off again. This time it was her alarm, alerting her that this was the third time she had hit snooze. She must have hit snooze in her sleep. She dismissed it completely, putting her phone in her bag and walked out the door.

* * *

She knocked on Cameron's door. She pulled out her phone, the timer was still running up since she started it earlier. Four hours and twelve minutes. She waited thirty more seconds before knocking again. She texted Camille, _Are you still at Cameron's?_

The timer counted up another thirty seconds before she got a response. _We just left a few minutes ago._ Leave it to Camille to do the one thing she said she wouldn't do. He wasn't supposed to be left alone.

Kirsten tried the doorknob, surprised that the door swung open. He really needed to lock his door. She entered his apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her. She surveyed the living room and kitchen, not finding anyone.

She heard something coming from the back- TV maybe? She barged into his bedroom, then relaxed almost instantly. Cameron was asleep, she could see his chest visibly rise and fall with each breath. He had all the lights on and Doctor Who on his TV. She turned off the overhead light, and the light on his nightstand. She carefully laid down next to him, and turned off the last light on her side of the bed. For the first time she looked down at what she was wearing, thankful that she grabbed yoga pants and a tank top. At least she could fall asleep in them.

She tried to get comfortable in his bed, ultimately deciding to snuggle into Cameron and placed her head above his chest. She could hear his heart beating beneath her ear. It was reassuring her that Cameron was alright.

* * *

He woke up when he felt shifting on his bed. He was always a light sleeper. He peeked out of the corner of his eye, just as he felt a weight on his chest. Kirsten had joined him in bed, and was cuddling him. Since when did Kirsten cuddle? If this was a dream, he wasn't sure he wanted to wake up.

His curiosity got the best of him, as it usually did. "Kirsten?," he whispered. She groaned in response. "Kirsten, what are you doing?" He shifted up the bed a bit, her hand tightening around his shoulder.

"Trying to sleep, but someone keeps talking," she said into his chest.

"Do you uh- want me to sleep on the couch?" He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, although she had already gotten under the covers with him. He tried to pull away, which made her tighten her grip on him.

"Stay," she whispered. She gave him a pleading look, and he knew that he would do almost anything she asked of him.

"Of course I'll stay." He pulled her closer to him, his hand resting on her elbow and caressing the skin there with his thumb. "Goodnight Princess," he whispered into her hair.

"Night," she muttered. Within seconds, she was fast asleep. Cameron's heart beat drowned out any possibility of her nightmare returning.

… present day...

Two months have passed since that night. Every time, he convinces himself that it must be a dream. But every time, he's proven wrong when he wakes up and sees her tucked into his side.

Kirsten's nightmares have been replaced with dreams. Her dreams were always of Cameron. He was away, although the reason frequently changed- away for the holidays, visiting his parents, or going to a neuroscience conference. While he was gone, she felt an intense longing that she never felt before, like a piece of her was missing while he was away. When he returned she told him that she missed him, and he returned the sentiment saying that he missed her too, pulling her in for a hug. She had so many things she wanted to say to him, but could never find the words... that's usually the point where she woke up.

This morning he woke up before she did, a few minutes before his alarm would go off. Occasionally she talks in her sleep, and this morning was one of those times. Usually it was nonsense- talking about a missed flight or a cab ride taking too long. "Missed you," she muttered in her sleep. "Cameron," she sighed, barely audible. If he wasn't intently focused on her, he might have missed it. A small smile was spreading across her face.

She still hasn't mentioned what she saw in the stitch- other than not finding out the license plate. He figures that it couldn't be all that bad, if it led them here.


End file.
